A Smile Worth It
by Maxcy Leland
Summary: With Rosalina sick, it's up to Cloud to step up and take care of the Lumas and his wife. It's not always comfortable, but for Rosalina he'll do anything. (If you don't like the pairing, I don't recommend reading.)


**I'm working on the tenth chapter of 'When A Hero', and it's really slow going. Like trying to plod through mud in lead boots. So I wrote this to help me with I don't know what. It's Cloud/Rosalina because I had a serious deficiency. Hope y'all like it!**

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A pot.

A wooden spoon.

An electric stove that was plugged into a reliable power source.

A bowl, a spoon, a napkin, and a glass of water on a tray.

A can of Campbell's chicken-noodle soup.

Cloud had that nagging feeling that he was forgetting something, and he wasn't about to start cooking until he was absolutely sure that he had everything. He wasn't the best cook, and he needed this soup to be perfect to help Rosalina get better.

Did he need to put ice in the water?

No. Rosalina had specifically told her husband not to put ice in the water. Cold water would irritate her sore throat.

He couldn't let anything irritate her throat.

The soft murmur of one of the Lumas came from behind him. He turned to face the star child. A few more subdued noises told him that his wife was wondering why he'd been in the kitchen for half an hour without producing the requested bowl of soup.

Had it been that long?

He couldn't delay any longer. He reached for the can of soup and realized what he was missing.

"Uh, could you hand me the can opener?" he asked the Luma. "Please."

Rosalina was always impressing on him the importance of setting a good example for their children in manners.

The little star flew to the other side of the oven where it struggled to open the drawer.

"Here, little guy. Let me." Cloud gently moved the star aside, opened the drawer and pulled out the can opener. So that's where it was kept. And the cheese slicer. He'd have to remember that for his midnight kitchen raids. He patted the Luma on the head. "Thanks."

The star cooed with pleasure.

Ten minutes later, Cloud was pouring the soup into the bowl while a group of Lumas watched his every move, leaning with him and peering over his shoulder at the meal being prepared for their mother.

Rosalina, lying on their bed in the darkened room with pillows behind her and blankets on top, lit up when she saw them. Part of that was the glow of the Lumas reflecting off her face, but part of it was her luminous smile.

Cloud smiled back as she sat up and he placed the tray carefully on her lap.

"Thanks," she whispered, putting up her blonde hair in a messy bun.

He nodded. "Can I get you more of that medicine stuff, Honey? It's the bottle with the red label, right?" He was used to treating the injuries and sicknesses that came with the battlefield, but thousand different packages of household medicine baffled him. "Just nod or shake your head."

She shook her head and spooned some soup into her mouth. Her smile grew and she gave her husband a thumbs up.

He grinned. At least he hadn't messed the soup up. And he'd made his wife something good, which was possibly the most satisfying feeling ever.

The Lumas were crowding around their mother now, begging for a spoonful of the soup.

"Hey, guys, I made that for your mother. Come out to the kitchen and I'll get you something to eat."

Rosalina nodded at the Lumas to obey and they droopily followed their father out to the kitchen.

It had probably been a mistake to promise food to his children when soup had been such a nerve-racking experience, but he had needed the soup to be perfect for his wife. It would be less stressful cooking for the Lumas.

Two broken cutting boards, a melted pan handle, an oven fire, a mountain of dirty dishes, and a full bag of garbage later, Cloud ushered his children out of the smoking kitchen and into the living room with two buckets heaped high with buttered popcorn.

Children were easy to cook for.

He played with the Lumas, throwing popcorn into the air for them to catch in their mouths. "It's Red's turn, guys. Yellow, Black, look before you leap is the rule of the battlefield. It'll keep you from bumping heads. You need ice on it?"

They then transitioned to hide-n-go-seek. "It's advisable to dim your glow a little if you want to remain hidden. You can't? Oh."

After that was the 'cleaning game' in the kitchen. "That's a lot of bubbles. Can you put 'can opener' on the shopping list, under 'cutting board'? Please."

Cloud checked in on his wife frequently and was dismayed to find that while she was enjoying the rest, she wasn't going to be recovered by the evening.

"Are you sure you're not feeling better? I thought the soup would help."

Her eyes sparkled with laughter. "Colds normally last a few days," she whispered, smiling at his shock.

"Don't talk. I don't want you to exert yourself."

Cloud returned to the kitchen where his children flocked around him, asking about the next activity.

"It's near your bedtime," he told them, almost choking on the word 'bedtime'. If Rosalina wasn't feeling better, it would fall to him to carry out the sacred tradition that was the highlight of the evening.

The stars flew off to brush their teeth and put on their nightcaps, and Cloud went to the bookshelf in the living room, dread pulling at his every step.

After some time, the blue Luma floated in, one of Toon Link's old hats askew on its head. The rest of the family was waiting in Cloud and Rosalina's bedroom. He grabbed the book and went to join them.

"Feeling any better?" he asked his wife as he sat down in the rocking chair across from the bed.

"Not since you asked me half an hour ago," she whispered, straightening the blankets as she looked at him, blue eyes twinkling.

"Okay." His mouth was dry as he looked around at the star children. "I'll be reading the bedtime story tonight. I'm not very good at reading aloud, so please forgive me."

He found the chapter where they had left off last time and started reading about the girl and the star who had traveled across the universe.

He was keenly aware of his halting way of reading and stiff tone in comparison to Rosalina's soothing voice and smooth telling of the legend. He tried to make up for his deficiencies by giving unique voices to the characters. His first attempt at the girl's voice made his face flush red to the roots of his hair. The Lumas began murmuring excitedly and burbling with laughter, moving closer to watch their father intently as they waited for his next impersonation. Cloud buried himself in the book and tried not to notice as he continued reading.

When he could finally put the bookmark in place at the next chapter, he wanted to go dunk his flaming face in a bucket of ice-water and then crawl in a hole for the rest of his life. Had Rosalina really said that colds could last for a few days? He couldn't go through this humiliation for another night.

After Rosalina would read the bedtime story, the Lumas would be close to drifting off, lulled by her soft voice. Now they were babbling to each other and impersonating their father's impersonations. They tugged at Cloud's hands, begging him to do more voices.

"It's bedtime," he said stiffly. He was the laughingstock of his home.

The stars appealed to their mother. Rosalina tightened her mouth and raised her eyebrows sternly, effectively silencing the pleas. The Lumas lined up beside the bed for their goodnight kisses from their mother and then flocked to Cloud for the same treatment.

He led them to their bedroom. They stalled in the doorway, wanting to know if he would keep reading the book to them every night.

"You didn't say please."

Lights were turned out, not that it really changed much of anything in a room full of stars.

"Goodnight."

They cooed back at him.

His head no longer felt hot, so he decided to forego the ice-water drenching and just go lay down next to his wife.

He flopped down on his stomach on the coverlet and turned his head to face Rosalina. "Feeling any better?"

Her response was to lean over and plant a kiss on his cheek. "You're amazing, love," she whispered. "The children loved your reading, and I did too."

"I didn't," he grumbled, already feeling his humiliation melting away under his wife's glowing praise and appreciation.

"Well then it was very noble of you to delight us." Rosalina combed her fingers through Cloud's hair, smiling down at him.

He rolled over onto his back. "I'm only doing it until you're well," he informed her. "And you shouldn't be talking."

"Thanks to you, I have enough voice saved up from today to talk a little tonight."

"I don't think 'saving up' your voice is a thing."

"Maybe not, but I should at least be able to tell my husband how wonderful he is. I'm a lucky woman."

"I think I'm the lucky one," he replied, sitting up and putting an arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head on his chest and he kissed her hair.

He'd made his Rosalina happy. Definitely the most satisfying feeling ever.

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 **So tell me, is it just me, or is this a good pairing? I generally like Cloud/Aerith, but for Smash I prefer this.**

 **Would you please review?**


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